Preparation:
Enlarge the attached coded message as a poster.
(Get a PDF of the coded message.)
Gather pictures of stars in the sky, the earth, animals, plants, and people. Have a marker or crayon available. Put the poster in the center of the board at the front of the room. Place the pictures around the poster.
Prepare a separate card for each letter of the attached code key and place them in a basket.
(Get a PDF of the code key.)
Presentation:
Show the children the poster at the front of the room. Explain that the message on the poster is in a code, telling us something important. The children will have to decipher the code to read the message. They will get help from the clues in your basket.
Have a child come up and draw a card from the basket. Have the child write the correct letter in the spaces above the corresponding symbol(s) on the poster, using the marker or crayon. (Younger children can help point out the correct symbols as the leader writes the letters.)
Repeat with other children and cards until all the letters have been decoded.
Have the children read together the finished poster that says:
GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH AND ALL FORMS OF LIFE.
(See synopsis heading for Moses 2 or Genesis 1.)
Point out the pictures around the poster. Identify which ones represent the heavens, the earth, and living things. Help the children understand that plants, animals, and people are all living things and were all created by Heavenly Father and Jesus.
Ask the children if they know why God created these things? Accept their answers as you guide them to understand the following principles: Heavenly Father loves us. Coming to earth was part of His plan. He wanted us to receive physical bodies. He wanted a beautiful place for us to live. Bear your testimony of these principles.
Sing songs that help reinforce this message, such as “My Heavenly Father Loves Me” (Children’s Songbook, 228), “The Lord Gave Me a Temple” (CS, 153), “All Things Bright and Beautiful” (CS, 231), “I Have Two Ears” (CS, 269), and “Because He Loves Me” (CS, 234).